Riser structure assembly

ABSTRACT

A riser structure which includes a support platform having an upper surface and a lower surface, the support platform including a pair of legs hingedly secured thereto, each of the legs mounted for pivotal movement into an open position and a closed position abutting the lower surface of the support platform whereby when the legs are folded into the closed position, the lower surface of the support platform presents a completely flush surface to permit stacking of a series of riser structures, one upon the other.

I United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,747,539

Calzaretto July 24, 1973 15 RISER STRUCTURE ASSEMBLY 3,072,451 1/1963 Greenberg etal. 108/132 [76] Inventor: Carl Calzaretto, 7129 West Ave.,

Oak Lawn, 0453 Primary Examiner-Francs K. Zugel Assistant Examiner-Darrell Marquette [22] Flled: May 1971 Attorney-Dominik, Knechtel & G-odula [21} Appl. No.: 141,284

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl 108/91, 108/129 A riser Structure which includes a Support platform 51 11 (:1. A47b 3/08, A47b 7/02 having an upper Surface and a lower Surface the SW Fleld of Search l, p pl f i l g a p of g Secured 108/131 129; 16/135; 248/439 thereto, each of the legs mounted for pivotal movement into an open position and a closed position abutting the [56] References Cited lower surface of the support platform whereby when UNITED TAT PATENTS the legs are folded into the closed position, the lower 1,387,154 8/1921 Hubbard 5/315 B surface of the support platform presents a completely 581,589 4/1897 Houghton 108/132 flush surface to permit stacking of a series of riser 355,227 12/1886 Snyder 16/135 structures, me upon the other, 1,593,975 7/1926 Karstens 108/132 179,307 6/1876 Herring 108/129 1 Claim, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDJULZWH SHEEI 1 0F 2 H62 2s 2| I27 I 20 I I5 23 l6 l3 INVENTOR r CARL CAL'ZARETTO BY 7 lime/w,

ATTORNEYS PAINTED- SHEEI 2 0F 2 INVENTOR CARL CALZARETTO HM I Y 4M ATTORNEYS.

l RISER STRUCTURE ASSEMBLY BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION This invention is directed to a novel form of riser assembly which is particularly suited for stacking relationship with a series of such riser assemblies one upon the other, whether in the open position, or in the closed and storage position. More particularly, this invention is directed to a novel type of riser structure which may be easily and economically manufactured, easily and efficiently handled by a user thereof in order to assemble the same into an open support position, and which also provides a very compact and easily storable package when disposed in the closed position.

Riser structures of the present invention are particularly suitable for use in connection with the display of a number of items of merchandise, goods, or other materials in a shelf arrangement, especially where such shelf arrangement must be easily and quickly constructed to permit such displays, and which may be easily disassembled to be stores when the need for such display has terminated. An ideal examplary use of such risers is in connection with trade shows and the like wherein retailers, distributors, or others, are apt to bring their wares to the trade show for display purposes, and wherein the exhibition hall must make available to said personnel a number of display racks or shelves for the display of such merchandise, but which are, nevertheless, also easily disassembled and portable such that the exhibition hall may once again be returned to its normal condition after the termination of such trade show. Therefore, the following description of the invention will have particular reference to the use of such riser structures in connection with the assembling and disassembling of compact shelf units for the display of items thereon, which assembly and disassembly is convenient and efficient, and in disassembled form may be easily stacked for storage purposes.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Various types and forms of folding tables, display stands, and nestable receptacles are shown in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,582 relates to tierable and nestable trays or receptacles which include a support wall having tierable support portions extending upwardly therefrom for supporting the bottom surface of the next adjacent tray or receptacle thereupon. It will be noted that such structures are extremely complex from a manufacturing standpoint and therefore economically not feasible. In addition, such structures are not easily storable once they are disassembled, since the support portions for the receptacles are not collapsible. Another form of collapsible. display stand or table is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,520,983. The structure described therein includes a support platform having a pair of legs mounted thereunder, which legs are foldable or collapsible into a closed position against the under surface of the support platform. However, it will be noted that the leg assembly of the structure disclosed in the aforementioned patent is very complex, each leg assembly including at least four separate hinge assemblies, and a number of support bars and cross pieces. In addition, when such legs are collapsed against the under surface of the support platform, a flush relationship is not established with respect to the lower stacking surface of the unit. Hence, such folding stands or tables are not easily stacked and stored when in the collapsed state.

Still other forms of collapsible stands or display racks are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 643,015. The structure shown in this patent bears some resemblance to the structure of the present invention, however, such structure again represents a support platform having a leg assembly which is rather complicated to form from a manufacturing standpoint, and even more importantly, the display stand as shown in this patent does not show or disclose, or even appreciate the advantages of having a novel hinging arrangement for hinging the legs to the underside of the support platform whereby such hinges do not interfere with the stacking relationship once in the disassembled form. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,848,119 shows another version of a display stand which requires the assembler to utilize a series of struts or brackets which must be slid about the shelves or support platforms to be supported thereby. It is clearly apparent that the assembly of such display stands is quite complicated and would be very time consuming to say the very least. Therefore, such display stands are not particularly suited for quick and efficient assembly to form a series of tiers or stacked shelves which may-also be quickly and efficiently disassembled and conveniently stored in a manner to minimize space requirements.

Presently, the type of stackable display stand being employed by several exposition halls, includes a rather cumbersome stand structure formed of a heavy metal, such as steel, which leg structure must be first opened and assembled after which a support platform is clamped thereto. In order to assemble a series of such structures, it is necessary that the stand structure be repeatedly opened and locked into place, after which a support platform is clamped or bolted thereunder. It is clear that such types of construction requires many man hours of work in order to assemble even a single series of tiers, and further, such assembly often requires the use of more than one man in order to assemble a single series of tiers.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a novel riser structure which may be easily opened and assembled in stacked relationship with several other such riser units to provide a quickly and efficiently assembled tierable and stackable shelf arrangement for display purposes.

Another object of the presentinvention is to provide a riser structure which may be quickly and efficiently disassembled, and when in the disassembled form, may be easily stored by merely stacking one riser structure on the other, thereby minimizing space requirements for storage purposes.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a riser structure of the type indicated above,

wherein the legs are permitted to close along the under side of the support platform thereby to provide a com pletely flush lower stacking surface for each of the riser structures, thereby permitting compact storage of a series of such riser structures one upon the other.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a riser structure of the type set forth which includes a novel hinge assembly for hinging the legs to the support platform whereby such hinge structures do not interfere with the stacking relationship of the riser structures, one to the other, while at the same time being economically inexpensive and relatively quickly manufactured.

Further features of the invention pertain to the particular arrangement of the elements and parts whereby the above-outlined and additional operating features thereof are attained.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pair of the riser structures of the present invention shown in tierable relationship;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view showing one of the riser structures in the closed position and suitable for storage;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the riser structure of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the riser structure in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing the riser structure depicted in FIG. 4 in the closed position thereof;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the riser structure as depicted in FIG. 4 of the drawing;

FIG. 7 is a side view, partly cut away, showing the hinge assembly for the riser structure as depicted in FIGS. 4 through 6 of the drawings above;

FIG. 8 is a side cross sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line 88 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line 99 in FIG. 8.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3 of the drawings, there is shown a riser assembly, generally referred to by the numeral 10, which includes a support platform 11, having an upper surface 12 and a lower surface 13. Each riser assembly 10 includes a pair of leg members pivotally mounted to the side edges 14 of the support platform 11 by means of a plurality of hinge members 16. In the embodiments of the riser assembly 10, depicted in FIGS. 1 through 3, the lower surface 13 of support platform 11 is shown to include a pair of end spacers 19 mounted thereon adjacent the side edges thereof, and a center spacer mounted thereon at a point approximately intermediate the side edges thereof.

Each of the leg members 15, have a thickness approximately equal to the thickness of end spacers l9 and center spacer 20 and the leg members 15 are pivotally mounted to the side edges 14 of the support platform 11 at a point between the end spacers l9 and the center spacer 20 whereby each leg member 15 may be pivoted to the closed position and nested between a respective end spacer l9 and the center spacer 20. In this manner when each of the leg members 15 is folded or pivoted into the closed position, the riser assembly 10 is presented with a lower stacking surface comprising each ofthe end spacers 19 the outer surface of each of the leg members 15 and the bottom surface of the center spacer 20. Each of these surfaces are in flush relationship with respect to one another thereby providing a flat stacking surface. The riser assembly 10 in the closed position is clearly depicted in FIG. 2 of the drawings, wherein the relationship between the leg members 15 in the closed position and the center spacer 20 and end spacers 19, all presenting a flush relationship with respect to one another and a flat lower stacking surface is depicted.

FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings illustrate the two most principal advantages of the present invention. In FIG. 1 it is noted that all that is necessary in order to open and assemble the riser assemblies 10 of the present invention is for the operator to pivotally move the leg members 15 from the closed position thereof (as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings), into the open position thereof. Thereafter, one riser assembly 10 may be stacked atop another riser assembly 10 merely by positioning the leg members 15 of one riser assembly 10 atop the support platform 11 of another riser assembly 10, and as many riser assemblies 10 may be stacked as desired, or as necessary. To disassemble the stacked or nested riser assemblies 10, it is only necessary for the operator to start with the top riser assembly 10 by removing the same and folding the leg members 15 into the closed position (as shown in FIG. 2), repeating this process as many times as there are riser assemblies 10 to be removed. As the leg members 15 of each riser assembly 10 are folded into the closed position thereof, one riser assembly 10 may be stacked upon the other riser assembly 10 for storage purposes and it will be noted that there is achieved a compactness for storage purposes heretofore unobtainable by prior art riser structures. In addition, the number of moving parts has been reduced to basically two parts, each of the two leg members 15 of each riser assembly 10, while at the same time greatly increasing the efficiency of handling such riser assemblies for assembly and disassembly.

It will also be noted that each of the hinge members 16 is formed as an L-shaped or elbow-shaped piece, having a short attachment foot 21 for attachment to the side edge 14 of the support platform 11, and an elongated arm 22 for attachment to the side edge of leg member 15. Each hinge member 16 is formed, preferably, of a metallic material, such as steel, aluminum or the like and is provided with suitable apertures 23 for the insertion therethrough of screws, nails or the like, as means for attaching each hinge member to the corresponding side edge 14 of the support platfrom 11 and side edges of a leg member 15. It will be noted that due to the particular configuration of the hinge member 16, certain advantageous results are obtained. In the first place, the hinge members 16 are very easily assembled to the respective parts, e.g., the support platform 11 and the leg members 15, merely by means of either nailing the hinge members thereto or screwing them with wood screws. Hence, from a manufacturing standpoint, the riser assemblies 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 of the drawings maybe efficiently and eco nomically manufactured at a minimal cost. In addition, it will be noted in FIG. 2 of the drawings that when the leg members 15 are pivoted into the closed position,

plurality of such riser assemblies may be stacked forstorage purposes while taking up only aminimum of space. For example, if each support platform is formed of material having only a thickness of one-half inch and each ofthe end spacers 19, the center spacer 20 and leg members 15 is similarly formed of material of a thickness of one-half inch, the total stacking thickness of each riser assembly is only 1 inch, where sturdier riser assemblies are to be formed, whereby each support platform 11 is formed of a material having a 1 inch thickness and the ends spacers 19, center spacer 20, and leg members are similarly formed of material having a 1 inch thickness, in this event the total stacking thickness of each riser assembly 10 is only 2 inches overall. It will therefore be appreciated that a great number of riser assemblies may be stacked for storage purposes, one atop the other while at the same time minimizing the overall storage space consumed thereby.

FIGS. 4 through 9 of the drawings illustrate still another embodimentof the present invention which is so constructed as to result in the achieving of all of the advantages and objects indicated hereinabove. With specific reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, there is shown a riser assembly, generally referred to by the numeral30 which includes a support platfrom 31, having an upper surface 32 and a lower surface 33 with side edges 34. The lower surface 33 is shown to include a pair of horizontally grooved sections, 35 extending from one side edge 34 to the opposing side edge 34 of the support platfrom 31. The grooved sections 35 provide a nest for the nesting of the leg members 40 in a manner to be more fully described hereinafter.

The riser assembly 30 includes a pair of leg members 40 hingedly mounted to the lower surface 33 of the support platfrom 31 by means of hinge means, generally referred to by the numeral 45. Each leg member 40 is also provided with a cut-out section 41 as more particularly shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings for a purpose to be described more fully hereinafter. Each of the grooved sections 35 has an outer corner 36 and an inner corner 37 thereof, which corners 36 and 37 are horizontally spaced from one another. Each leg member 40 is hingedly mounted to the lower surface 33 of the support platform 31 along the outer corner 36 of the respective groovedsection .35 thereof. Each leg member 40 has a length slightly less than the horizontal distance between the outer corner 36 and inner corner 37 of grooved section 35 whereby the leg member 40, when pivoted into the closed position thereof is nestable in grooved section 35 as more particularly shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. In addition, the thickness of each leg member 40 is equal to or less than the depth of the grooved section 35 whereby wheneach ofthe leg members 40 is pivoted into the closed position, the lower surface 33 of support platform 31 is perfectly flush along the total length thereof, thereby to present a lower stacking surface for the riser assemblies 30.

The hinge means 45 is more particularly shown in FIGS. 7 through 9 of the drawings and includes a hinge bar 46 mounted on the top of leg member 40 by any suitable means, depending upon the materials of which the leg member 40 and the bar 46 are composed. The horizontally grooved section 35 is provided with a semi-circular groove 38, extending from one side edge 34 of the support platfrom 31 to the opposing side edge 34 thereof adjacent the outer corner 36 of said grooved section 35. The semi-circular groove 38 accommodates the nesting therein of the hinge bar 46 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings, and the hinge bar 46 is held in place by at least two clips 47, each clip includ ing a trough 48 shaped to accommodate the hinge bar 46, and an attachment flange 49 which is suitably apertured in order to accommodate a screw or bolt 50 for attaching the clip 47 to the under surface of the grooved section 35. Hence, it will be seen that the manner of mounting the leg member 40 to the under sur face 33 of support platform 31 consists of providing at least a pair of clips 47 which are suitably mounted to the lower surface of the grooved section 35 by means of screws50 passing through the apertures of the attachment flange 49 of the clip 47, which clips 47 have a trough 48 for accommodating the hinge'bar 46 therein. The hinge bar 46 will nest in the semi-circular groove 38 provided in the surface of the section 35 adjacent the outer corner 36 thereof. Each leg member 40 is provided with a pair of cut-out sections 41, through which the trough portion 48 of the clip 47 passes. In this manner, the hinge means 45 is conveniently accommodatedwith the under surface 33 of the supportplatform 31 whereby when each leg member is pivoted into the closed position, the hinge means 45 does not interfere with the flush relationship established as between the outer surfaces of the leg members 40 and the lower surface 33 of support platform 31. Hence, a smooth and flush lower stacking surface is provided for the riser assembly 30.

It will be noted by viewing FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings that the semi-circular groove 38 is disposed adjacent the outer corner 36 of the grooved section 35. In

this manner, the vertical or sloped wall of outer corner 36 functions as a positive stop for the leg member 40 when the same is extended into the open position. In addition, the distance by which the semi-circular groove 38 is spaced from the corner 36 will determine the angular slope of the leg members 40 when opened, and hence, will determine the relative height of each riser assembly 30. If desired, a series of semi-circular grooves 38 may be provided in linearly spaced relation from the corner 36 in both grooved sections 35, and

suitable mount holes provided for the clips 47 along each of such grooves 38 whereby the operator may mount the legs 40 at a point spaced inwardly from the corner 36. In this manner the slope of the leg members 40 may be increased thereby decreasing the overall height of the riser assembly 30, at the option of the operator.

. It will be noted that one of the advantages of the construction of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 through 9 of the drawings over the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through3 is that the second embodiment neednot have the end spacers l9 and center spacer 20 in order to provide a perfectly flush lower stacking surface for the riser assembly. It is clearthat as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, the assembly of the riser assembly 30 is accomplished by merely grasping and retracting the leg members 40 into the open position as shown in FIG. 4 and then stacking one upon the other in order.

to provide a nestable series of risers to accommodate merchandise and the like for display purposes. In addition, in order to disassemble such a stacked arrangement, it is only necessary to start with the upper unit first, removing the same and folding the leg members 40 into the retracted or closed position as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, wherein the-leg members 40 will nest in the grooved section 35 thereby presenting a perfectly flush and smoothlower stacking surface for the riser assembly 30 enabling the: operator to stack one riser assembly 30, upon another for convenient storage purposes. Since the need for end spacers 19 and center spacer 20 has been eliminated in this embodiment, the overall height or depth of each riser 30 consists of no more than the thickness of the support platform 31. Hence, even more efficiency is obtained in terms of minimizing the storage space required for a series of such risers 30 when being disassembled and being storage for future purposes.

Where the riser assemblies 30 as shown in FIGS. 4 through 9 of the drawings, are formed of wood, the hinge bar 46 may be formed of any suitable material such as wood or metal which may be secured to the top edge of the leg member 40 by any suitable means such as rivets, epoxy resin binding agents, or the like. Where additional strength and support is necessary, the length members 40 may each formed of a metallic material, such as steel or aluminum or the like, and the hinge bar 46 may be similarly be formed of a metal substance which may then be welded or otherwise affixed to the top edge of the leg member 40. The only factors which limit the materials of which the riser structures of the present invention may be formulated is the cost of manufacture, the anticipated weights to be supported by such riser structures, and the relative cost of the different materials which thereby affect the manufacturing cost. Obviously it is clear that the particular materials of which these riser structures are formulated is irrelevant with respect to the invention as described herein, since regardless of the materials utilized, risers may be constructed in accordance with the present invention.

It will be appreciated that there has been provided by virtue of this invention a riser assembly which minimizes the number of moving parts, as well as the number of total parts utilized to formulate the same. In addition, riser structures of the present invention may be easily assembled by merely pivoting two leg members into the open position and thereafter stacking one upon the other. In addition disassembly is just as easy by merely removing the riser structures one from the other and folding the leg members into the closed position into suitable nesting places so-provided thereby to present a flush smooth lower stacking surface. Thereafter, the riser structures may be stored in a minimum of storage space since the overall height or depth of each of the riser structures has been minimized whereby one may be stacked on the other and stored in a minimum of space. It is therefore appreciated that all of the above objects and advantages have been accomplished by means of the riser structures depicted herein and the various embodiments thereof to provide an extremely compact and low cost riser structure.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A compactible riser structure comprising a support platform having an upper support surface and a lower stacking surface,

said lower stacking surface including a pair of grooved sections therein,

a pair of legs hingedly mounted on said support platform, said grooved sections in said lower stacking surface having a depth equal in dimensions to the thickness of said legs,

said legs being pivotable into an open support position and into a closed position in nested relationship with respect to said grooved sections,

each of said legs including a tubular member mounted thereon, along the upper edge thereof, and said lower stacking surface including a horizontal bore adjacent an edge of each of said grooved sections for accommodating one of said tubular members therein,

and at least one clamp member for securing and retaining said tubular member in said bore,

thereby to provide hinge means for each of said legs, which hinge means permits each of said legs to be pivotally moved into a closed position in nested relationship with respect to said grooved sections and to be in flush relationship with said lower stacking surface, and each of said legs being pivotally movable'into an open support position. 

1. A compactible riser structure comprising a support platform having an upper support surface and a lower stacking surface, said lower stacking surface including a pair of grooved sections therein, a pair of legs hingedly mounted on said support platform, said grooved sections in said lower stacking surface having a depth equal in dimensions to the thickness of said legs, said legs being pivotable into an open support position and into a closed position in nested relationship with respect to said grooved sections, each of said legs including a tubular member mounted thereon, along the upper edge thereof, and said lower stacking surface including a horizontal bore adjacent an edge of each of said grooved sections for accommodating one of said tubular members therein, and at least one clamp member for securing and retaining said tubular member in said bore, thereby to provide hinge means for each of said legs, which hinge means permits each of said legs to be pivotally moved into a closed position in nested relationship with respect to said grooved sections and to be in flush relationship with said lower stacking surface, and each of said legs being pivotally movable into an open support position. 